According to a recent study by the University of Udine and Gorizia, 80% of internet users find online ads an obstacle to their navigation, reducing ease of use of the web. The results presented in the study are based on a survey conducted in the north east of Italy:
69% of those interviewed find publicity a violation of their privacy
Yesterday, Google announced its second quarter figures showing that international revenues represented all revenue growth for the last 9 months with the US virtually flatlining. Growth in revenue compared to last year was 39% and 3% compared with the first quarter of the year giving a total quarter turnover of $5.3 billion. Clicks decreased by 1% over the first quarter of the year but were still 19% up year on year.
The revenue percentage from the UK was $774 million down from $803 million in the first quarter of 2008 but up by 33% from the $600 million against the second quarter of 2007. Seasonally adjusted this still means the UK is on a roll as January is a particularly strong month leading the first quarter to higher revenues.
Meanwhile, checkout this chart from Google’s investor relations information showing the situation in the US compared with their international revenues clearly showing static US growth with international development - including the UK - leading Google’s current growth.
A fascinating acquisition has taken place in Russia where Google, which has not traditionally performed well in the Russian search engine market, has paid one of its competitors $50 million for their share of the Begun contextual advertising system. The total acquisition value of Begun was $140 million - but a signficant slice of that will be paid to Rambler’s partner in Begun - Bannatyne Ltd.
Meanwhile, Rambler, the original control owner of Begun, continues to compete with Google as a search engine which is now richer than it was before with having, according to its own press release, a net cash position of $100 million to pursue “further investments and acquisitions in line with Rambler’s stated strategy.” Begun is known to have typically paid lower prices to publishers and cost less for advertisers - no doubt the Google involvement will change that in some way.
For a number of years, Germany (.de) was the world’s most popular ccTLD in terms of registrations.
But about two years ago China made its ccTLD a lot more affordable and easier to get. Since then, the country has been registering roughly 20,000 country codes a day. The country went from 2 million registrations to 10 million registrations in an amazing 12 months.
Within the past two months, China overtook Germany for the top spot, with approximately 11.4 million registrations. It’s safe to say that Germany isn’t going to take that lead back.
Below is the list of the leading countries overall:
The country that stands the best chance of one day giving China a run for its money is India. But I’m not holding my breath. India stands at only 1.2 million registrations currently and is growing at 46% annually. It’s an impressive growth rate — a rate that is bound to increase, but China is also adding registrations at a good clip.
Why isn’t .us higher on the list? Blame .com. Most Americans assume .com is synonymous with USA. Over time, I expect this to change, but that’s a topic for a future post…
Ericsson and 3 Italy announced the successful conclusion of the first ever high speed mobile internet connection with HSPA+ technology (High Speed Packet Access) reaching 5.8 Mbps transfer rate.Source: ANSA
The Top Level Domain extension .it - geographical extension that identifies Italy - has reached the 1,5 million activations, ranking 5th in Europe and 7th worldwide. Significant changes in the registration process are foreseen later this year, introducing a so-called syncro system which delegates authority of domain name activation to 3rd parties.Source: NIC
Abondance brings us further news of the Google book publishing initiative which sees Lyon, France’s second most important city (sorry Marseilles), jumping the gun on Paris and cooperating with Google. The digitisation will involve those books which are out of copyright.
The library houses an important collection of books in the French language and some rare editions from authors such as Nostradamus and Newton. Not all of the books in the collection are in the French language as the Italian, Latin, English, German and Spanish languages also feature prominently. It is the second largest collection in France after the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris.
Other libraries in Europe which are also involved in the project include Lausanne in Switzerland, and Ghent in Belgium.
For what it’s worth, Lyon is also a beautiful city - speaking as a former resident!
According to Vietnamnet, Yahoo is pushing the boat out in terms of new product launches in Vietnam - a market of around 20 million internet users with a largely young profile. Only in April this year, Yahoo appointed Vu Minh Tri as the General Director of Yahoo Vietnam.
Vietnam is a particularly interesting market for Yahoo. It’s in the east where traditionally Yahoo has a strong foothold - and Vietnam is one of the few markets where Microsoft doesn’t have any presence - so it’s much more of a two horse race.
This year Yahoo has launched services via Vietnamese newspapers, working with Mobifone to provide mobile phone search - and appointed four local agencies to go and sell ads. Only trouble is, Yahoo doesn’t appear to have a clear legal status to do this. According to Vietnamenet, they’re operating on a Singaporean licence - which is a bit like a Canadian company trading in the US on it’s Canadian credentials I guess! But there is life in the ole’ dog yet in the east - that’s for sure!
Search Engine Marketing Journal is a new printed publication dedicated to the advancement of search marketing through peer reviewed articles.
The goal of the journal is to help professionals in the industry share their expertise, encouraging the submission of articles and research papers by experts in the industry.
Similar to a scientific journal, articles submitted are reviewed by editors prior to publication.
SEMJ.org offers membership plans - all papers will be available online to paid members.
Getty Images and Flickr announced a partnership combining (Flickr) creativity and (Getty Images) digital media licensing. In a move to increase reach and enrich offer, Getty Images and Flickr have agreed to a partnership and created the Flickr Collection, images and photos selected by the Getty Images Editors.
Flickr members will benefit from the Getty Images distribution and sales capabilities.
The move is yet another direct confirmation of the interest in User Generated Content and confirmation that Web 2.0 is a viable business model Corporations are carefully studying …
iPhone goes on sale on July 11 in Japan, and I heard that there was a short line (not long at all compared to the line forming in front of the Apple shop in New York city) forming in front of the store in Tokyo.
As you may know, Softbank won the contract for iPhone in Japan, which means that Yahoo Japan (owned by Softbank) becomes it’s official web portal and the search engine.
Here, you can see new Yahoo Japan for iPhone. You can click each icon to see the service screen. Yahoo for iPhone can be used from iPod Touch, too.
Yahoo said that you can search both web sites and mobile sites from iPhone.
According to a new study by Visa Inc. “B2C Electronic Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean: Beating All Odds.”, retail e-commerce in Latin America, including travel and tourism, rose to nearly $11 billion in 2007, up from about $5 billion in 2005 and $7.78 billion in 2006, and is expected to surpass $16 billion this year and reach nearly $30 billion by 2010.
Sales figures for leading Latin American markets, with sales in millions of dollars for 2007, 2006 and the percent change:
Country
2007
2006
%
Brazil
4,899
3,541
38%
Mexico
1,377
868
59%
Venezuela
821
490
68%
Caribbean (except Puerto Rico)
818
585
45%
Argentina
739
619
19%
Chile
687
472
46%
Central America
499
360
39%
Puerto Rico
445
384
16%
Peru
218
145
50%
Columbia
201
175
15%
Others
203
165
23%
Following are the categories cited by consumers, with the percentage of consumers saying they shop each category:
Statistics Iceland has published the results of its seventh survey on the use of ICT and the Internet by Icelandic households and individuals. The survey was conducted earlier this year and shows how the vast majority of Icelandic households have one or more computers and access to the Internet. In 2008, 92% of the households had a computer and 88% of the households had access to the Internet.
xDSL Internet connection are the most common type of Internet connections, whereas 94% of the Internet-connected households used an xDSL connection. That year only 5% of the Internet-connected households used a dial-up telephone connection or an ISDN connection.
According to Statistics Iceland the use of computers and the Internet is very widespread among individuals in Iceland. In 2008, 92% of the population aged 16–74 years used a computer and 91% had used the Internet in a period of three months prior to the survey. As in previous years the Internet is mainly used for information search and communication. In 2008, 36% of internet users aged 16–74 years had ordered goods or services over the Internet during a period of three months prior to the survey. As in previous years, the most popular goods and services purchased over the Internet are related to travel and accommodation.
Among the key speakers are Bill Hunt, Director of Global Search Strategy at Neo@Ogilvy; Erica Schimdt, Global Search Director at ISOBAR, and Sara Houlobek, Consultant, DMNews Columnist & SEMPO Board of Directors.
Audiweb, powered by nielsen, has published panel data gathered in the month of May.
24 million users went online at least once during the month of may, 2008, a 5% increase compared to April
The number of users increases to 25,6 million if instant messaging and software to download music or films are included
The average Italian user went online 30 times and was connected for an average of 21,5 hours (30 minutes more than previous month) totalizing 1.650 page views
19,6 million domestic users (+8% from April) averaging over 14 hours online with an average of 1.170 page views
Consumer electronic websites were up 6% with 15,7 million visitors: forums and news sites were those showing the most significant increase to 6,9 million
7 million flocked to price comparison shopping portals and online purchasing guideline sites (+10% )
5,9 million went to online game sites (+12%)
3,3 million searched for friends and romance (+26%)
5,3 million were in search for wellness and body building (+14%)
4,2 million were on the outlook for webistes on food and cuisine (+22%)
4,2 million took an interest in DIY and gardening (+15%)